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Vanessa & Darran

Your Home and Pets in Loving Hands.

Picture of House Sitter, House Minder and Pet Sitter at Kiwi House Sitters, New Zealand. User Your Home and Pets in Loving Hands.
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About us

groupCouple

40, Barista

50, Leadership Coach/Teacher

Loving, Reliable & Caring Pet & House Sitters: We want you to come home knowing your pets were happy, cared for and loved, and that your home was treated with so much care and respect. ❤️

favoriteWhy we love house sitting

Pet and house sitting feels like the perfect way for us to combine the things we love, animals, nature, travelling and discovering new places. We genuinely enjoy getting to know each pet’s personality and making sure they feel safe, comfortable and loved while their owners are away.

Loving, Reliable & Caring Pet & House Sitters

Hi, I’m Vanessa, a French Canadian who has been lucky enough to call New Zealand home for the past five years and I’m a NZ resident. My partner Darran is originally from the uk and has been in New Zealand for 26 years and is a NZ citizen.

For two beautiful years, I lived on a small family farm in Dunedin, where I discovered just how much I love caring for animals. I had the privilege of looking after sheep, alpacas, hens, horses, cats and ... Read moreLoving, Reliable & Caring Pet & House Sitters

Hi, I’m Vanessa, a French Canadian who has been lucky enough to call New Zealand home for the past five years and I’m a NZ resident. My partner Darran is originally from the uk and has been in New Zealand for 26 years and is a NZ citizen.

For two beautiful years, I lived on a small family farm in Dunedin, where I discovered just how much I love caring for animals. I had the privilege of looking after sheep, alpacas, hens, horses, cats and dogs, as well as a goat and a donkey! 🐑🐴🐕🐈

We also have a real soft spot for birds, guinea pigs and rabbits. Basically, if it has four legs, feathers or a wagging tail, I’m probably going to love it! 😊

Last year, my partner and I moved to beautiful Karekare in Auckland, where we enjoy a quiet lifestyle surrounded by nature. One of our dreams is to eventually have a little piece of land somewhere in New Zealand, with a few animals, a big garden and plenty of space to enjoy the outdoors.

My partner Darran is a Leadership and Life Coach and often works from home. He is also a Primary School teacher and sometimes works in local schools when needed. He has a background serving for 15 years in the Royal New Zealand Airforce as an Aircraft Avionics Engineer. He received 5 medals and a commendation from the government for his work.

He loves animals too and also used to own a Dashshund for the last 13 years but unfortunately, he passed away a couple years ago.

Pet and house sitting feels like the perfect way for us to combine the things we love — animals, nature, travelling and discovering new places. We genuinely enjoy getting to know each pet’s personality and making sure they feel safe, comfortable and loved while their owners are away.

We are quiet, tidy, respectful, trustworthy, non-smokers and non-drinkers. We take pride in looking after someone’s home as if it were our own and understand how important it is to have peace of mind when you’re away.

We are attentive to each pet’s individual needs, routines and personalities, whether that means walks, cuddles, feeding, medication, playtime, companionship or simply keeping them company at home. We are also happy to care for gardens and plants and keep your home clean and well looked after.

We love walking, gardening and spending time in nature, so we’re very happy to enjoy a quiet lifestyle alongside your pets.

Most importantly, we want you to come home knowing your pets were happy, cared for and loved, and that your home was treated with the same care and respect we would give our own. ❤️

We can’t wait to meet some wonderful new people, discover new places around New Zealand and, most importantly, meet lots of amazing pets along the way! 🐾🌿

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Pet care

petsWilling to care for these pets

DogsDogs
CatsCats
FishFish
BirdsBirds
Rabbits/Guinea PigsRabbits/Guinea Pigs
Chickens/Ducks/GeeseChickens/Ducks/Geese
Farm AnimalsFarm Animals
HorsesHorses
ReptilesReptiles

agricultureFarm experience

I lived 2 years on a little family farm. There were horses, a cat, sheep, hens and alpacas. I've fed many times lambs and I still have a trustful relation with them. I fed many times horses and had to clean the padock from poos. Cleaning the hens's house and feed them and of course giving them ... Read moreI lived 2 years on a little family farm. There were horses, a cat, sheep, hens and alpacas. I've fed many times lambs and I still have a trustful relation with them. I fed many times horses and had to clean the padock from poos. Cleaning the hens's house and feed them and of course giving them some love. I love nature and taking care of a land and animals helps me to feel grounded in the present moment. The conection with animals make me feel calm and love.

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Trust

Gold member24 months
reviews5 star reviews

Availability

eventNext 12 months

Aug
Sep
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eventCurrent bookings

2026: 15-29 Aug

Preferences

scheduleHouse sit duration

0 - 1 week, 1 - 2 weeks, 2 - 4 weeks, 1 - 2 months, 2 months +

where_to_votePreferred locations

Anywhere in New Zealand

Reviews (6)

Vanessa and Darran were fantastic! sitters! Our dog still misses them. They took wonderful care of Griffy, kept us regularly updated, and left our home even better than they found it. We couldn’t recommend them highly enough!
Thanks so much Diana, It was an absolute pleasure to look after Griffy and your lovely house.
Darran and Vanessa are amazing, so grateful for their stay, they looked after Indie with lots of walks and their communication is outstanding. Came home to an immaculate house so tidy and thank you both so much. And Vanessa, thank you for cleaning the coffee machine!! We Highly recommend Vanessa and Darran.
Vanessa and Darren were the most wonderful house sitters, the horses were cared for, feed twice a day and brushed daily. The house was immaculate, Darren water blasted and swept the driveway and all the walk ways. I couldn’t have been more thankful to know the animals were well looked after coming home to spotless home inside and out! They went over and above what you would expect house sitters to do, I would not hesitate to recommend and we hope they will house sit for us again.
Vanessa and Darren were absolutely fabulous house sitters! Our dog warmed to them so quickly. Their communication was wonderful and the house was immaculate. Our dog is quite reactive with other dogs which didn’t faze them at all and Vanessa was actually trying to work with him on it! We would have them back anytime and would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for responsible, kind, clean house or pet sitters. Thank you!!
We had Darren and Vanessa looking after our pets and our home and they were great communicators before the sit and during the sit, with updates and photos. They were flexible and accommodating with their plans around the sit, to ensure our animals were well cared for (feeding times etc) . On our return the house was immaculate and the dogs very happy and settled. We look forward to having them sit for our pets again and would highly recommend them as sitters.
Vanessa and Darren are excellent at house sitting and dog sitting. They communicated extremely well to confirm the sit, during by sending us updates and photos, and after to check on our return. We came home to a cleaned tidy home and a happy dog! I highly recommend them for a sit and will pass their names on to friends. We were able to get away and have peace of mind knowing our dog and home were being well looked after. Thanks Vanessa and Darren!!!❤️
Garden Maintenance

Green garden!

Make sure the garden and pot plants are thriving when you get back - get a house sitter.

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